Unleash the Archers

Unleash the Archers

Unleash the Archers is a Canadian metal band from Vancouver, formed in 2007. The group’s lineup includes vocalist Brittney Slayes, drummer Scott Buchanan, guitarists Brayden Dyczkowski, Mike Selman, Grant Truesdell and Andrew Kingsley, bassist Brad Kennedy, and additional members listed as Kyle Sheppard, Nikko Whitworth and Nick Miller.

Style and sound

The band plays metal with strong power metal elements, and their music also draws on traditional heavy metal and melodic death metal. Their broader style is sometimes associated with female-fronted metal and metalcore as well.

Early releases and lineup changes

Unleash the Archers begins with Brittney Slayes, Scott Buchanan and Brayden Dyczkowski, with Mike Selman joining soon after and Zahk Hedstrom completing the initial lineup later in 2007. In 2008 the band records a self-titled four-song demo, including two songs that are later re-recorded for the debut album.

The first studio album, Behold the Devastation, is recorded with Jason Hywell Martin at Omega Mediacore Studios in Richmond, British Columbia and released independently in August 2009. It is the only album to feature the original lineup. The second album, Demons of the AstroWaste, is recorded with Nick Engwer and Stu McKillop at the Hive Soundlab in Burnaby, British Columbia and released independently in May 2011. Grant Truesdell contributes two guitar solos to the record and later joins the band after Selman leaves.

From independent releases to Napalm Records

A three-song EP follows, issued only on 7-inch vinyl, with an extra track, “Arise”, given to pre-orders and later released digitally. This release marks the departure of Zahk Hedstrom on bass.

In February 2015 the band signs to Napalm Records. Later that year it releases Time Stands Still, which moves the group toward a more traditional heavy metal sound after Dyczkowski’s departure and the arrival of Andrew Kingsley. The video for “Tonight We Ride” appears in May 2015; it is influenced by Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and filmed in the Nevada desert with props from the Death Guild Thunderdome camp at Burning Man.

Concept albums and chart success

After touring Europe in late 2016, the band prepares a new album with Nikko Whitworth on bass. The single “Cleanse the Bloodlines” appears in April 2017, followed by Apex through Napalm Records. Apex becomes the band’s first album to reach the Billboard charts, placing on metal, hard music, independent and digital lists, and also charting in Canada. The band tours Europe with Orden Ogan in support of the album.

Whitworth leaves in early 2018. The group then works on a covers EP and a full-length follow-up. In 2019 it releases a cover of Stan Rogers’ “Northwest Passage”, then issues the EP Explorers. In 2020 it releases Abyss, its fifth full-length album, which continues the story introduced on Apex; the band also announces plans for a graphic novel based on that narrative.

Recent activity

Nick Miller becomes a full-time member in December 2021. The band reports that it is writing its next album in 2022. Phantoma, the sixth studio album, is released in 2024.